Emphasizing the Drafting Process

Students and instructors alike tend to view a piece of writing as the final version, particularly if it will receive a grade. When commenting on an early draft it might be natural to emphasize changes that will produce more effective future drafts. But even when evaluating a so-called final draft, we can direct our comments toward future writing situations. Explain how the writing strategies that would have improved a particular paper will apply to other assignments and non-academic projects. It might also be beneficial to allow students to revise one or more papers for a potentially higher grade. While we don't want to stress the grade over the process, the prospect of a higher grade might be an incentive to engage in revision when students might otherwise abandon a piece of writing as soon as it's been evaluated.